Method and device for unifying imbricated flows

ABSTRACT

A method and a device are provided for combining overlapping flows (S 1 , S 2 ) of flat products ( 10, 20 ), particularly of printed products, to common product flows (P 3 ). The products ( 10, 20 ) from the first or second overlapping flows (S 1 , S 2 ) are received by an intermediate conveyor ( 50 ), and transported to a first product flow (P 1 ), or a second product flow (P 2 ), by means of the intermediate conveyor ( 50 ). The distance (d) of the product flows (P 1 , P 2 ) is successively reduced so that the product flows (P 1 , P 2 ) form the common product flow (P 3 ). The products ( 10, 20 ) are conveyed at least directly before combining the product flows (P 1 , P 2 ) such that a space ( 12, 22 ) is located at least between the groups of products ( 10, 20 ) within the first, or within the second product flow (P 1 , P 2 ). The products ( 10, 20 ) of at least one of the product flows (P 1 , P 2 ) are displaced in a direction extending substantially perpendicular to the surface normal ( 14, 24 ) relative to the products ( 10, 20 ) of the other product flow (P 1 , P 2 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention lies in the field of conveyor technology for flatproducts, in particular printed products, and relates to a method forunifying at least one first imbricated flow and a second imbricated flowdistanced thereto, as well as to a device for carrying out the method.

2. Description of Related Art

It is particularly in the field of processing printed products that thetask of leading together imbricated flows of flat products into a commonproduct flow often occurs, wherein the original flows are separate fromone another. The common product flow may either be an imbricated flow,but may also designed differently, e.g. a flow of products grippedindividually or in groups by grippers, or one or more stacks of severalproducts. For example, some rotation printing machines feed printedproducts in pairs folded into one another with a lateral offset, into animbricated formation. Two separate imbricated flows are produced by wayof this imbricated formation being pulled apart in the offset direction,i.e. transverse to the conveying direction. For further processing, itis desirable to lead these separate imbricated flows together again intoa common product flow.

Flat products are to be understood as those products whose thickness issignificantly smaller than their length and width. If one speaks of asurface normal of the products, this is meant as the surface normal ofthe front surface or rear surface, i.e. the surface normal in thedirection of the thickness or the smallest dimension of the product. Asa rule, the conveying in a spatially compact formation is desired, withwhich the distances of the products, e.g. the distances of the leadingedges at any point in time, is significantly smaller than the length orwidth of the products.

The state of the art already discloses two different methods or devicesfor unifying two imbricated flows.

EP-B 0 155 633, for example, suggests the unification of two imbricatedflows conveyed in a lying manner, in the manner of a zip closure. Theimbricated flows are conveyed to one another with an offset of half theproduct length at an acute angle. The products lie, i.e. their surfacenormals point essentially in the vertical direction. In each case, aproduct of one of the imbricated flows is deflected in regions upwardsout of the common transport plane at the location of where they meet, sothat in each case a product from the other imbricated flow may move in.The two imbricated flows mesh into one another in the manner of a zipclosure in this manner, and are then pushed together transversely to thetransport device. Since the running-in imbricated formations are notbroken up, here it may occur that the products are compressed or evencreased due to the friction, particularly if these are thin or stillmoist from the printing.

EP-A-0189896 discloses a method for leading together two imbricatedflows, with which a first and a second imbricated flow are conveyed intwo transport planes lying above one another. The distance of theleading edges (imbricated distance) is then increased to such an extentwithout a change in the orientation of the products, that singularised,lying products are present, i.e. the distance is larger than the lengthof the products measured in the conveyor direction. These are combinedinto a running-out formation, which consists of individual products orsets of in each case two products lying on one another, said products orsets of products being conveyed one after the other. Alternatively,again an imbricated formation of alternately deposited individualproducts from the first and second imbricated flow is formed after thesingularisation. A singularisation step, as is necessary here, may inpractise however only be carried out with low conveyor outputs, sincethe products must be greatly accelerated in the conveyor direction. Withthe conveyor outputs and conveyor speeds which are usual today, atpresent there are no suitable devices, e.g. gripper conveyors with acorresponding conveyor capacity. On the other hand, one wishes to makedo without such an acceleration of the products, in order not to subjectthe products to high loads.

WO 88/00919 discloses a device for leading together two imbricated flowsinto a common imbricated flow by way of a rotating drum with a pluralityof conveyor compartments. The bases of the conveyor compartments lie ona cylinder surface with a radius which is smaller than the radius of thedrum. They are tilted with respect to the radial direction, so that theproducts may be inserted in a lying manner. In each case, one product ofthe two imbricated flows is introduced in an alternating manner with anoffset in the axial direction, into a conveyor compartment in each case.The conveyor compartment, thus, has a small opening angle, so that itmay receive only one product in each case. The conveyor compartments ineach case have a pusher, which is arranged laterally, and specificallyto the left and right of the introduced products in an alternatingmanner, and is movable in the axial direction. The products are centeredby way of movement of the pushers. They are then fed into a running-out,common imbricated formation. The processing capacity of this drum isdefined by the number of conveyor compartments and their maximal speed.For processing high conveyor outputs, the drums must be equipped with ahigh number of conveyor compartments, which entails correspondingspatial dimensions.

A device for leading together two flows of products held by grippers isdisclosed in EP-A 0 399 188. Here, the products are held by a gripper ina hanging manner and conveyed along two conveyor paths, wherein the heldproduct edge is orientated transversely to the conveyor direction. Thedistances of the conveyor paths reduce in a continuous manner in a firstregion, wherein the conveyor paths run parallel to one another in asecond region. The product flows are unified in the manner of a zipclosure into a common product flow, by way of the grippers of the oneconveyor path having an offset in the conveyor direction to the grippersof the other conveyor path. In each case, one product of the firstproduct flow thereby pivots in each case between two products of thesecond product flow, wherein the corresponding surface normals have acontinuously reducing angle to one another in the first region, and areparallel to one another in the unified product flow. Optionally, areceiving by the grippers of a further gripper conveyor may be effectedin the second region. The movement path of the grippers and theirdistance must be matched to the product width, since the products have acertain extension in the transverse direction. In particular,correspondingly large distances between the grippers are necessary withwide products, in order not to inhibit the described pivot movement.Hints with regard to the processing of imbricated flows are not to befound.

It is therefore the object of the invention, to specify a method forleading together imbricated flows, and a device for carrying out themethod, which avoid the mentioned disadvantages and are particularlysuitable with high conveyor outputs, and which may be carried out in asimple manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The method according to the invention assumes that flat products areconveyed in two imbricated flows which are spatially separated from oneanother, i.e. in a compact formation with a certain overlap of theproducts. Since the products normally lie in an imbricated formation,the surface normals as a rule are orientated essentially vertically, andthus, essentially perpendicularly to the conveyor direction. The flowsare received by an intermediate conveyor and are conveyed further as afirst or second product flow. Thereby, space intervals are createdbetween individual products or at least between groups of products,which are conveyed directly overlapping one another in the initialformation. Space interval is to be understood in that in each case twoproducts are distanced to one another, so that at least one frontsurface or rear surface of a product is preferably essentiallycompletely exposed. In each case, one or more products of the respectiveother product flow may be introduced in a gentle manner into these spaceintervals without rubbing on one another. In order to avoid aspace-consuming and mechanically burdening pulling-apart of the productsin the plane of the products, the orientation of the products, at leastof one of the product flows, is changed such that its surface normalspoint essentially in the horizontal direction directly before theunification of the product flows. This orientation change may beeffected without a great effort by way of using gravitational force. Aspatially compact formation with space intervals arises without havingto significantly accelerate the products in the conveyor direction. Theproducts of at least one of the product flows are then inserted with anessentially horizontal orientation of their surface normals or in ahanging or standing position, into the space intervals within the otherproduct flow.

According to a preferred further formation of the invention, theproducts in the two product flows to be led together, at least duringthe unification of the product flows, have essentially the sameorientation, i.e. their surface normals and edges corresponding to oneanother in each case point in the same direction. Only a paralleldisplacement takes place relative to one another, in order to unify theproduct or product groups into a common product flow. The products arepreferably conveyed by way of grippers or other conveyor means, whichmove the products individually or in groups. In contrast to EP-A 0 399188, with the invention, a space interval which is somewhat larger thanthe thickness of the product is sufficient in principle. The edge lengthof the products has no influence on the magnitude of the space interval.

Alternatively, a smaller angle may be enclosed between the surfacenormals of the products of the two product flows, which preferably liesbetween 0 and 450 and does not essentially change during theunification. Only when the product flows largely overlap one another arethe orientations of the products adapted to one another.

With the unification of the product flows, the product flows are ledtogether such that the space region which is covered by the products ofthe first product flow at least partly coincides with the space regioncovered by the products of the second product flow, preferably in acomplete manner. The distance of the product flows is the distance oftwo points corresponding to one another, within these space regions,e.g. the corners which lie at the top and at the right in the conveyordirection. This distance is preferably reduced to zero.

Starting from an imbricated formation with a constant imbricateddistance, the space intervals described above are preferably introducedby way of a product edge being gripped by a gripper or introduced into apocket, and the product then conveyed in a hanging or uprightly standingmanner. Depending on the orientation of the grippers or pockets,flexible products may also be bent on account of the gravity. The freeend may then be supported by a rest, and the products may also be bentby way of this. With such a bending of the products, the bent parts arepreferably not taken into consideration for determining the direction ofthe surface normals. The described movements of the products are causedby way of a suitable movement of the conveyor means holding them.

Also, several products may be gripped by a gripper in groups ortransferred into a pocket, and the space interval in this case islocated between the groups.

As an alternative, the space intervals may be produced by way of theproducts being introduced into conveyor compartments of a rotatableconveyor drum individually or preferably in groups. They are introducedfrom above, preferably on account of gravity, with a horizontalalignment of their surface normals. After depositing in the conveyorcompartment, the surface normal of the products points in the directionof the surface normal of the support surface of the conveyorcompartments, whose direction preferably corresponds to the conveyordirection. A conveyor compartment in each case receives products fromthe first and second imbricated flow. These are fed at different axialpositions and are pushed onto one another in the axial direction by wayof an additional pusher means or by way of gravity. If the axialdisplacement of the products from the first product flow is effectedbefore the feeding of the products from the second product flow, then aparticularly gentle treatment of the products is effected, since oneavoids the products rubbing over one another.

The common product flow consists of products or groups of products fromthe first or second imbricated flow, which alternate with one another.It is possible, for example, to arrange the products one after the otherindividually (1:1) or in equally large groups (2:2, 3:3, . . . n:n) oralso in differently large groups (1:2, 1:3, . . . , 1:n, 2:3, 2:4, . . ., m:n). The products which are originally conveyed in separateimbricated flows may thus be processed further in an infinite sequence.On conveying in groups, a significant increase in capacity is achievedby way of the multiple use of the intermediate conveyor. The originalimbricated flow may likewise consist of stacks of products which lie onone another in an imbricated manner, and/or of complexly constructedproducts.

The inventive device for carrying out the method includes conveyor meanswhich are capable of receiving the products from the first and thesecond imbricated flow and conveying them into a first product flow orinto a second product flow. Such conveyor means are for examplegrippers, pockets or also conveyor compartments of a conveyor drum. Theproducts are conveyed such that the space intervals described above arecreated at least for a short time. Furthermore, means for displacing theproducts of the first product flow are present, which move theserelative to one another in a plane running essentially perpendicularlyto the surface normals, into the space intervals within the secondproduct flow. By way of this, the distance of the product flows is alsoreduced and finally a common product flow consisting of products fromthe first and the second imbricated flow are formed. These means may,for example, be realised by way of conveyer paths of the grippers orpockets, which approach one another. With a conveyor compartment whichreceives products from the first or second imbricated flow at differentaxial positions, these means may be realised by way of a pusher actingin the axial direction. Alternatively or additionally, the gravitationalforce may also be utilised, e.g. by way of the products sliding fromabove into pockets, grippers or conveyor compartments, in which productsare already located.

A compact feed which is different to the imbricated formation islikewise conceivable, e.g. in stacks.

The invention permits a gentle, space-saving unification of two productflows, and, given an equal conveying of several products, permits theachievement of a significant increase in the capacity. For this, to somedegree conveyor devices known per se are applied in a new manner. Forthis reason, the invention may be realised without any great designeffort.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Examples of the invention are represented in the drawings and aredescribed hereinafter. In a purely schematic manner there are shown in:

FIG. 1 a principle sketch of the method according to the invention, onunifying product flows consisting of simple products;

FIG. 2 a principle sketch of the method according to the invention, onunifying product flows consisting of product pairs;

FIG. 3 a principle sketch of the method according to the invention, onunifying imbricated flows, in which products folded into one another areconveyed;

FIG. 4 a principle sketch of the method according to FIG. 3, wherein theproducts are grouped together into product pairs;

FIGS. 5-7 different views of a first variant of a device for carryingout the method with a gripper conveyor, which comprises two sets ofgrippers which are arranged next to one another;

FIGS. 8, 9 a second variant of a device for carrying out the method,with two gripper conveyors which are arranged over one another, in aview from the side and from above respectively;

FIG. 10 the execution of the method according to the invention with aconveyor drum;

FIG. 11 the conveyor drum from FIG. 10, on processing a singleimbricated flow;

FIG. 12 an application of the method according to the invention, for theflexible processing of products which have been put together in acollation stitching drum.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a principle sketch of the method according to theinvention, for unifying two imbricated flows S1, S2 into a commonproduct flow P3. Represented is a plan view of the imbricated flows orproduct flows. The imbricated flows S1, S2 consist in each case ofproducts 10, 20 which are arranged in a lying manner and overlapping oneanother with an imbricated distance s. The products 10, 20 may beidentical or different. Here, it is the case of folded products 10, 20,e.g. newspapers or magazines.

The imbricated flows S1, S2 are firstly converted into product flows P1,P2 of singularised products 10, 20. For this, the products 10, 20 forexample, are received individually by way of grippers of an intermediateconveyor (cf. FIG. 5-8) The products 10, 20 are brought into a hangingposition, and the surface normals 10, 24 point in the horizontaldirection and the leading edges or side edges 10 a, 20 a, and 10 b, 20 brespectively in the horizontal or vertical direction. The product flowsP1, P2 here are arranged next to one another in the same horizontalplane. They may, however, also be located above one another (cf, e.g.FIG. 8), and in this case the middle region of FIG. 1 may also be seenas a section in a vertical plane. The grippers in both cases may, forexample, engage on the leading edge 10 a, 20 a, on the trailing edge(not shown) or on a side edge 10 b, 20 b.

The products 10, 20 are conveyed along movement paths 16, 26 which arefirstly distanced to one another, and after unification are conveyedalong a common movement path 36. The distance d between the movementpaths 16, 26 thus reduces to zero. The movement path of a point which isfixedly assigned to a product 10, 20 may be seen as a movement path ofthe product, e.g. its centre of gravity or an edge centre. The movementpath may correspond to the conveyor path of a gripper or run parallelthereto.

The spatial region 18, 28, 38 which is covered by the products 10, 20 orthe product flows P1, P2, P3 or its lateral limitation is represented ina dashed manner. The unification region 39 begins where the overlap ofthe product flows P1, P2 begins, and ends on reaching a maximum overlap.In this region, the surface normals 14, 24 of the products 10, 20 areparallel to one another (as also in the remaining regions). Theorientation of the products 10, 20 in space is not changed, i.e. norotation about the surface normals 14, 24 takes place and theorientation of all edges 10 a, 10 b, 20 a, 20 b remain equal onunification.

The imbricated flows S1, S2 are conveyed with the same speed and with anoffset v seen in the conveyor direction F1, F2, which corresponds toroughly half the imbricated distance s. By way of this, one ensures thatthe products 10, 20 have the correct phase shift on unifying theimbricated flows. Alternatively, one of the movement paths 16, 26 may belonger than the other one by a suitable amount. It is to be understoodthat the movements of the products 10, 20 may also be synchronised inanother manner.

Space intervals 12, 22 between the products are formed by way ofstraightening up the product 10, 20. The distance a of the products 10,20 in the product flow P1, P2 or the width of the space intervals 12, 22here corresponds roughly to the imbricated distance s, but may howeveralso differ from it with different conveyor speeds, and it is preferablysmaller or equal to the imbricated distances. The width a of the spaceintervals 12, 22 is larger than the thickness b of the products 10, 20,but may be significantly smaller than the length of the side edges 10 b,20.

For unifying the product flows P1, P2, these are led together such thatin each case one product 10 of the first product flow P1 moves into acorresponding space interval 22 in the second product flow P2. Accordingto the invention, this is effected in a particularly space-savingmanner, by way of the surface normals 14, 24 of the products 10, 20having the same orientation, thus the products 10, 20 being alignedparallel to one another. They do not change their orientation in space.By way of a movement parallel to the product surface, the product flowsP1, P2 may therefore be moved into one another in a comb-like manner.The space interval 12, 22 for this must only be slightly wider than theproduct width b.

After unification, the common product flow P3 which still consists ofisolated products 10, 20 may optionally be converted again into animbricated flow S3, e.g. by way of depositing onto a conveyor belt.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the method of FIG. 1. Hereby, theoriginal imbricated flow S1, S2 is converted into an imbricated flowS1′, S2′ with which in each case two products 10, 20 lie on one anotherin a congruent manner or with a small offset, and form product pairs.The product pairs 11, 21, as the individual products 10, 20 in FIG. 1,are gripped by grippers and are straightened up for forming spaceintervals 12, 22. The product flows P1, P2 are moved into one another ina comb-like manner as with FIG. 1. The common product flow P3 may beconverted again into an imbricated formation S3, which consist of pairsof products 10, 20 which lie over one another in a congruent manner orslightly offset.

Also more than two products may be grouped into a group. The spaceintervals are then located between the groups. Due to this measure, theconveying capacity of a conveyor applied for conveying and that of theintermediate conveyor may be doubled or quadrupled or the conveyor speedlowered accordingly.

FIG. 3 likewise shows a modification of the method of FIG. 1, withwhich, instead of simple products, it is those products 10, 20 whichconsist of two products 10′, 10″, 20′, 20″ which are folded into oneanother, which are conveyed. The products 10′, 10″, 20′, 20″ may beidentical or also different. The running-in imbricated formations S1, S2originate for example from a rotation printing machine which feeds suchproducts folded into one another. The handling of these products up tothe production of the common product flow P3 or the imbricated formationS3 produced therefrom corresponds to FIG. 1. As schematically indicatedhere, one may add a step, with which the imbricated flow S3 is separatedinto two part imbricated flows S3′, S3″. Such a separating step may bedesigned as, for example, described in DE-A 2417614, CH 634 530 or EP-A0 936 169.

The method shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to that of FIG. 2 with thedifference that the products 10, 20 consist of two products 10′, 10″,20′, 20″ folded into one another, as in FIG. 3. Two part imbricatedflows S3′, S3″ are produced after separating up the common product flowP3 or the imbricated formation S3 formed therefrom, and these partimbricated flows in each case comprise pairs of products 10′, 20′ or10″, 20″ which lie congruently over one another.

FIG. 5 shows a device for carrying out the method, in a lateral view.FIGS. 6 and 7 schematically show sections along the lines A-A and B-B.

The device comprises a feed conveyor device 40, an intermediate conveyor50 and a conveying-away device 70. The feed conveyor device and theconveying-away device 40, 70 here are designed as belt conveyors, onwhose conveyor belts the products 10, 20 are transported in animbricated formation S1, S2, S3. The feed conveyor device 40 comprisestwo belt conveyors, of which in the present representation only one isvisible. Additionally, in each case a cycle conveyor 42 is presentconnecting to each belt conveyor and this cycle conveyor sets a constantproduct distance and may compensate irregularities in the running-inimbricated formation S1, S2.

The intermediate conveyor 50 is designed as a gripper conveyor with aplurality of grippers 52, 52′ and receives the products 190, 20 in areceiver region 60, from the feed conveyor device 40/42. As the viewsperpendicular to the conveyor direction F of the gripper conveyor inFIGS. 6 and 7 show, a first group 51 of grippers 52 is distanced in thehorizontal direction to a second group 51′ of grippers 52′. In eachcase, the gripers 52, 52′ of a group 51, 51′ are moved along a commonconveyor path 53, 53′. The conveyor path 53, 53′ is the movement path ofany point of a gripper 52, 52′ and here of one of its guide elements 54,54′ by way of example. The conveyor paths 53, 53′ therefore have adistance d′ to one another transverse to the conveyor direction F. Inthe lateral view in FIG. 5, the conveyor paths 53, 53′ coincide. Thedistance d′ of the groups 51, 51′ of grippers 52, 52′ is set independence on their position along the conveyor paths 53, 53 by way of asuitable cam guide 55, 55′, which cooperates with the guide elements 54,54′.

As FIG. 5 shows, the grippers 52 of the first group 51 are additionallyoffset in the conveyor direction F of the gripper conveyor at each pointof their conveyor path 55 by the amount a relative to the grippers 52′of the second group 51′. The arrangement of the products 10, 20corresponds to FIG. 1.

The distance d′ is selected such that the products 10, 20 gripped by thedifferent groups 51, 51′ of grippers 52, 52′, when being received by thegrippers 52, 52′ from the feed conveyor device 40/42, do not overlap oneanother in a projection in the conveyor direction F. This situation isrepresented in FIG. 6. Here, the products 10, 20 are located next to oneanother and the respective product flows P1, P2 do not overlap.

The distance d′ is reduced by the cam guide 55, 55′ in the course of theforward movement of the grippers 52, 52′. The product flows P1, P2 arepushed into one another in a comb-like manner by way of this. Now aproduct 10 held by a gripper 52 of the first group 51, seen in theconveyor direction F, is located directly in front of or behind aproduct 20 held by a gripper 52′ of the second group 51′, in the viewaccording to FIG. 7.

The products 10, 20 are subsequently deposited on the conveyor belt ofthe conveying-away device 70 at a transfer location 62.

The intermediate conveyors 50 are hereinafter described in a moredetailed manner. The two groups 51, 51′ of grippers 52, 52′ and theirguide and drive devices are designed in a mirror-symmetrical manner withrespect to a vertical plane. The grippers 52, 52′ consist of a base body56, 56′ which is arranged on an elongate guide rod 57, 57′, and isdisplaceable along this. The grippers 52, 52′ further comprise a gripperjaw 58, 58′. This keeps the products 10, 20 on an edge running parallelto the guide rod 57, 57′ and, in principle, the products may howeveralso be held on an edge running perpendicularly thereto. The gripper jaw58, 58′ is arranged projecting with respect to the base body 56, 56′,i.e. in a non-symmetrical manner, and in FIGS. 6 and 7 the gripper jaws58 of the group arranged on the right project to the left and viceversa. With this, the products 10, 20 may be gripped centrally on anedge and, seen in the conveyor direction F, may be brought to overlapwithout the conveyor paths 53, 53′ of the grippers 52, 52′ crossing oroverlapping. It is also conceivable for individually movable grippers tobe led together into a common conveyor path.

The guide rods 57, 57′ are aligned in a horizontal manner. They areguided in a lateral guide 59, 59′, e.g. a guide groove in a verticallyorientated plate. The guide rods 57, 57′ run along an ellipticalmovement path, and this movement, with the exception of the transversedisplacement, also corresponds to the movement of the grippers 52, 52′.The guide rods 57, 57′ are driven, for example, by way of a movementelement, which is not shown here, e.g. a pull element.

The grippers 52, 52′ by way of cam guides which are likewise notrepresented here, are closed at the receiver location 60 and openedagain at the transfer location 62. They are transported in an emptymanner via the upper part of the conveyor path 53, 53′ back again to thereceiver location 60.

In order to prevent the products 10, 20 from fanning out at their freeends, a spiral or helical conveyor 64 is arranged below the intermediateconveyor.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a further device for carrying out the methodaccording to the invention, in a view from the side (FIG. 8) or fromabove (FIG. 9). It comprises an intermediate conveyor 50, which containstwo gripper conveyors 50′, 50″ which are independent from one another.These convey a first and second group 51, 51′ of grippers 52, 52′ alonga first or second conveyor path 53, 53′ respectively. The conveyorspaths 53, 53′ are located above one another. In a plan view, theconveyor paths 53, 53′ in a first section run next to one another with areducing distance, and in a second section in the same vertical plane.The spatial regions 18, 28 covered by the product flows P1, P2 aretherefore firstly horizontally and vertically distanced to one another.That region in which its overlap begins, is the unification region 39.

The upper gripper conveyor 50′ grips products 10 originating from afirst imbricated flow S1 at their upper edge and conveys these in ahanging manner or regionally also with their free ends supported by arest 65. The lower gripper conveyor 50″ grips products originating froma second imbricated flow S2 at their lower edge and conveys these in anessentially standing position which here is inclined slightly in theconveyor direction F. The gripper conveyors 50′, 50″ approach oneanother in the horizontal as well as the vertical direction, in front ofthe unification region 39. In front of the unification region 39, thesurface normals 14 of the upper products 10 are aligned in an essentialhorizontal manner. Space intervals 22 are formed between the lowerproducts 20 by way of gripping the products 20 by the lower grippers52′. The upper products 10 may be introduced into these. After theirfree end has been brought into such space intervals 22, the products 10,20 are moved relative to one another in the vertical direction. This onthe one hand is effected by way of the conveyor path 52′ of the lowergripper conveyor 50″ being directed obliquely upwards, and the otherhand by way of the upper products 10 being let go of by the grippers 52assigned to them and sliding into the lower grippers 52′ due to gravity.The lower grippers 52′, thus, convey two products 10, 20 and as a commonproduct flow P3.

A distance change of the conveyor paths 53, 53′ of the gripper conveyors50, 50′ is required per se for unifying the product flows P1, P2, andthis change corresponds roughly to a product width. Here, this size isreduced by way of the rest 65 deflecting the free edges of the upperproducts 10, and thus, shortening the effective product width. Surfacenormals in the sense described above are those of the product part whichis not bent.

Even with this example, the grippers instead of engaging on the upper orlower edge may engage on a side edge, in order to execute the describedmovements.

Instead of a gripper conveyor 50″, a pocket conveyor with pockets whichsupport the products 10, 20 from below may also be applied instead of agripper conveyor 50″. The support walls of the pockets may be directedvertically, similarly to the clamping elements of the gripper 52 here,or may also be inclined out of the vertical.

The products 10, 20 are fed, for example, in an imbricated formation S0consisting of products 10, 20 folded into one another. This formationS0, with means not shown here, is divided up into two simple imbricatedflows S1, S2 and conveyed by way of feed conveyor devices 40′, 40″. Theproducts 10 of the imbricated flow S1 are received by the upper grippers52. The other imbricated flow S2 is still conveyed further until shortlybefore the unification region 39. Its products 20 then, here after anadditional alignment or cycling by way of a cycle conveyor 42, arereceived by a lower gripper conveyor 50″ and conveyed further as acommon product flow P3. Subsequently, the products 10, 20 are depositedonto a conveyor belt or processed in another manner.

FIG. 10 shows a further device for carrying out the method according tothe invention with a conveyor drum 80 known per se as an intermediateconveyor 50, in a view from above. The conveyor drum 80 which isrotatable about its longitudinal axis 84 comprises a multitude ofconveyor compartments 82, which open in the radial direction and haveradially aligned support walls 83. With a feed conveyor device 40comprising two conveyor belts, products 10, 20 are conveyed in animbricated formation S1, S2 to two receiver locations 60, 60′. These liedistanced to one another in the axial as well as radial direction abovethe conveyor drum 80. First products 10 are fed individually or in theirmultiple at the first receiver location 60. During the rotation of thedrum, these are displaced in the axial direction with suitabledisplacement means, so that they assume roughly the axial position ofthe second receiver location 60′. This displacement is effected beforethe conveyor compartment 82 reaches the second receiver location 60′ andthe second products 20 are fed. The second products 20 are thereforeintroduced from above into the conveyor compartments 82 which arealready filled with the first products 10. Rubbing of the products onone another is largely avoided. Their relative movement on feeding thesecond products 20 is in the product plane or the vertical direction.The first products may likewise be straightened up or slightly inclinedwith respect to this, when they are supported on the support wall 83. Aspace interval 12, 22 in the product flow P1, P2 exists, since theindividual products 10, 20 or groups thereof are separated out of thefed imbricated formation S1, S2 and are introduced into the conveyorcompartments 82. The products are deposited in a common product flow P3at the transfer location 62.

As with FIGS. 8 and 9, the running-in imbricated formations S1, S2 mayoriginate from an imbricated formation 50 of products folded into oneanother.

Instead of imbricated formations S1, S2, the products may also be fed inanother arrangement, e.g. in the form of stacks, or individually.

FIG. 11 shows the case with which only one imbricated formation S is tobe transported instead of two imbricated formations S1, S2. In thiscase, the conveyor drum may be bridged. As alternatives, the productsmay be brought into the conveyor compartments 82 at a receiver location60′ and be deposited again downstream at the transfer location 62. Thiscase e.g. occurs when products with high page numbers are to bemanufactured from the rotation.

FIG. 12 shows an example for the application of the method according tothe invention in combination with the manufacture of products 10, 20with a collation stitching drum 100. Such collation stitching drums areknown per se, e.g. from EP-A 0 341 425 or EP-A 0 550 828. They areparticularly applied with the production of magazines, in order to puttogether a total product out of individual product parts. The productparts, e.g. individual printed sheets and/or attachments, are therebyfed at several feed stations 110, 112 which are arranged offset in theaxial direction, to the collation stitching drum 100, transported in theaxial direction and are removed again in a removal region optionallyafter the stitching. Here, the collation stitching drum 100 consist oftwo modules 102, 104 which are coupled to one another. Each module 102,104 is constructed essentially equally and comprises feed stations 110and 112, stitching modules 106 and 108 and removal regions E1 and E2.

The products 10, 20 which are manufactured in each case in one of themodules are removed in a first mode at the removal regions E1, E2, ledto further processing stations 114, 116 and in each case processedfurther independently of one another. The products 10, 20 manufacturedin the modules 102, 104 may be identical or different from one another.

For some applications, it may be desirable to manufacture an assembledend product which comprises more product parts than may be processedwith an individual module 102, 104. For this reason, in a second mode,the product flows P1, P2 which arise at the removal regions E1, E2 ofthe two modules 102, 104, are led together with the help of the methodaccording to the invention or with a device according to the invention,along the conveyor paths into a product flow P3 which is moved togetheralong a common conveyor path 26. The products 10, 20 manufactured in themodules 102, 104 are in this case preferably equal. The common productflow P3 manufactured according to the invention consists of pairs ofproducts 10, 20. These are then led to the further processing station116 whilst the other further processing station 114 is inactive.

Here, the product flows P1, P2 which arise at the removal regions E1, E2of the two modules 102, 104 are schematically shown as gripper flows,but here however imbricated flows may likewise arise, which subsequentlyare transferred into grippers or may be processed further as imbricatedflows.

The shown arrangement has the advantage that depending on the demands,products 10, 20 which are independent of one another, with in each casen1 and n2 product parts respectively or more complex products with n1+n2product parts, may be manufactured, wherein n1 and n2 corresponds to thenumber of feed stations 110, 112 respectively of the respective module.The flexibility of known processing devices is significantly increasedby way of this. Of course, one may also apply several collationstitching drums which are independent of one another instead of amodularly constructed collation stitching drum.

1.-16. (canceled)
 17. A method for unifying at least one first and asecond imbricated flow of flat products, in particular printed products,into a common product flow consisting of products of the first or secondimbricated flow, comprising the following steps: conveying the flatproducts in the first imbricated flow and in the second imbricated flow,wherein the imbricated flows are initially arranged at a distance withrespect to one another; transferring the products from the first andsecond imbricated flow to an intermediate conveyor; conveying theproducts by the intermediate conveyor in a first product flow and in asecond product flow respectively; forming the common product flow bysuccessively reducing a distance of the product flows during theconveying step, so that the product flows at least approximately movethrough the same spatial region; wherein the step of forming the commonproduct flow further comprises: creating space intervals betweenindividual products or between groups of products within the first andsecond product flow respectively; arranging the products of at least ofone of the product flows with an essentially horizontal orientation oftheir surface normals; inserting the products with an essentiallyhorizontal orientation of their surface normals into the space intervalswithin the other product flow, in order to create the common productflow.
 18. A method according to claim 17, further comprising a step ofconveying the products with a constant alignment of their edges andtheir surface normals in space at least during the step of forming thecommon product flow.
 19. A method according to claim 18, furthercomprising a step of conveying the products of both product flowsaligned to one another in a manner such that edges corresponding to oneanother and their surface normals run parallel to one another, anddisplacing the products relative to one another perpendicularly to theirsurface normals at least during the step of forming the common productflow.
 20. A method according to claim 17, further comprising the stepsof: providing an intermediate conveyor which comprises two groups offirst and second conveyor elements respectively, in particular grippers,and moving the first and second conveyor elements along a first andsecond conveyor path respectively; transferring the products from thefirst and second imbricated flow to the first and second conveyorelements respectively; forming the common product flow by way of arelative movement of the first and second conveyor elementsrespectively; conveying further the products in the common product flowby the first and/or second conveyor elements.
 21. A method according toclaim 20, further comprising a step of holding the products of at leastof one of the product flows at their edge which leads or trails in theimbricated formation, and conveying the products in a hanging and/orstanding manner at least directly before the step of forming the commonproduct flow.
 22. A method according to claim 17, wherein the firstconveyor path, after a region where the product flows are unified, runsparallel to the second conveyor path and at a distance thereto in thehorizontal direction.
 23. A method according to claim 17, wherein thefirst conveyor path, at least during the unification of the productflows, runs parallel to the second conveyor path and distanced theretoin the vertical direction.
 24. A method according to claim 17, furthercomprising the steps of: providing, as the intermediate conveyor, aconveyor drum rotatable about an axis running in an axial direction andhaving a plurality of conveyor compartments opening in a radialdirection; transferring products from the first and second imbricatedflow to a common conveyor compartment at transfer locations which areaxially distanced to one another; arranging the products in a commonconveyor compartment; displacing the products arranged in a commonconveyor compartment during the rotation of the conveyor drum relativeto one another in the axial direction, in a manner such that theyoverlap.
 25. A method according to claim 17, wherein the common productflow comprises individual products, or groups of products, said productsor groups of products being arranged in an alternating sequence and ineach case originating from the first or the second imbricated flow. 26.A device for unifying at least one first and a second imbricated flow offlat products, in particular printed products, into a common productflow consisting of products of the first or second imbricated flow,comprising: a first and a second conveyor for conveying the flatproducts in the first imbricated flow and in the second imbricated flow,wherein the first and second conveyors are arranged at a distance withrespect to one another; an intermediate conveyor with conveyor elementswhich are capable of receiving the products from the first and secondconveyor and conveying them in a first product flow and in a secondproduct flow respectively, in a manner such that space intervals arecreated within the first and second product flow respectively, and thata distance of the product flows is reduced by displacing the products atleast of one of the product flows with an essentially horizontalorientation of their surface normals, into the space intervals withinthe other product flow, such that the product flows at leastapproximately move through the same spatial region and form a commonproduct flow.
 27. A device according to claim 26, wherein theintermediate conveyor comprises two groups of first and second conveyorelements respectively, said groups being independent of one another, andsaid conveyor elements being movable along a first and second conveyorpath respectively, wherein the first and the second conveyor path have adistance to one another, which changes in the course of the conveyorpaths.
 28. A device according to claim 27, wherein the first and thesecond conveyor path are arranged distanced to one another in thehorizontal direction.
 29. A device according to claim 28, wherein theintermediate conveyor comprises a plurality of first and second guiderods, which are orientated parallel to one another and in each case aremovable along a closed, first and second revolving path respectively,wherein the first and second revolving paths are orientatedperpendicularly to the first and second guide rods and run parallel toone another and wherein the first and second conveyor elements aremounted in each case on a guide rod and are displaceable along this forchanging the distance of the conveyor elements.
 30. A device accordingto claim 27, wherein the first conveyor path is arranged above thesecond conveyor path in the vertical direction.
 31. A device accordingto claim 30, wherein the second conveyor elements are capable ofreceiving the products conveyed by the first conveyor elements and ofconveying the first and second products together.
 32. A device accordingto claim 26, wherein the intermediate conveyor comprises a rotatableconveyor drum with a plurality of conveyor compartments which open inthe radial direction and with displacement elements capable ofdisplacing the products arranged in a common conveyor compartment,relative to one another in the axial direction during the rotation ofthe conveyor drum, in a manner such that they overlap one another.